Long haul for East Lancashire's kids with mental health problems

DOZENS of children with mental health problems are having to be treated as far away as Kent, due to beds being unavailable within Lancashire.

There were 54 children sent outside the county for inpatient treatment in 2012-13, with another 37 so far this financial year. This represents more than a third of admissions for under 18s.

The figures included individual cases being sent to Birmingham, Maidenhead, Edinburgh and Woking.

Most remained in the North West, however, with about 30 going to facilities in Bury and Cheadle.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of under 18s have been treated on adult psychiatric wards, which NHS England has described as ‘totally unacceptable in the majority of cases’.

There were 11 young people treated on adult wards in 2011/12, which rose to 18 in 2012/13, and 22 so far this year.

This mirrors a national trend which has brought criticism from mental health charities.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, said: “This is another symptom of the crisis in the mental health system and is the predictable result of both the acute shortage of beds for all ages and the cuts to local community services.” A spokesman for Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “Due to the clinical presentation of individuals, sometimes a specialist age appropriate placement is required which may not always be available in Lancashire.

“If this is the case, the trust will always try to locate a bed as close to family as possible.

“Staff from the trust liaise closely with the family and the individual to ensure suitability, taking into consideration proximity to family members and the placement being best able to meet the clinical needs of the young person.

“In some cases, a bed cannot always be found immediately so interim arrangements must be made until one becomes available.

“This can sometimes be an admission for a short period of time onto our adult wards. This is only done in exceptional circumstances following a robust clinical assessment of the individual and potential environment and in close consultation with the family.”

I was on a mixed sex adult mental health ward for nearly 12 months when I was 17 between 2002-2003. Nothing was ever said about my age being inappropriate at the time, it is only now I have seen reports such as this that I realise it was. Seems like little has changed over the past decade.

I was on a mixed sex adult mental health ward for nearly 12 months when I was 17 between 2002-2003. Nothing was ever said about my age being inappropriate at the time, it is only now I have seen reports such as this that I realise it was. Seems like little has changed over the past decade.Beautiful stranger

The Mental Health is in trouble, wards being closed and beds unable to be found for adults as well, they are being sent 6 hours drive away which means their mental health team cannot visit family cannot visit and these ill people can be in hospital for 6 month or more, weeks are wasted in hospitals waiting to be seen by the Consultant on arrival and waiting to get the team together to discharge them, they have to earn privelIdges on the ward but then they move them to another ward or hospital and these are not transferred with them they have to start all over again another few weeks wasted, the money is being put into Care in the Community but once ill this is not possible, the treatment of these ill people has not moved forward in decades and their for the grace of God go I

The Mental Health is in trouble, wards being closed and beds unable to be found for adults as well, they are being sent 6 hours drive away which means their mental health team cannot visit family cannot visit and these ill people can be in hospital for 6 month or more, weeks are wasted in hospitals waiting to be seen by the Consultant on arrival and waiting to get the team together to discharge them, they have to earn privelIdges on the ward but then they move them to another ward or hospital and these are not transferred with them they have to start all over again another few weeks wasted, the money is being put into Care in the Community but once ill this is not possible, the treatment of these ill people has not moved forward in decades and their for the grace of God go Ikatypri